Chapter 1 of The Heart of the Hills is here in full — 429 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Heart of the Hills is here in full — 429 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Split the difference!" he commanded. "All right." A few minutes later Arch was loping back up the river road. Within an hour he had won old Jason to a non-committal silence and straight-way volunteered to show the colonel the outcroppings of his coal. And old Jason mounted his sorrel mare and rode with the party up the creek.
Chapter 1 of The Heart of the Hills is here in full — 429 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 66/85 · 5 reading units · Lines 326–330
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
a curved shape in the vertical plane that spans an opening
From this reading “A few minutes later Arch was loping back up the river road.”
fossil fuel consisting of carbonized vegetable matter deposited in the Carboniferous period
From this reading “Within an hour he had won old Jason to a non-committal silence and straight-way volunteered to show the colonel the outcroppings of his coal.”
a natural stream of water smaller than a river (and often a tributary of a river)
From this reading “And old Jason mounted his sorrel mare and rode with the party up the creek.”
(Greek mythology) the husband of Medea and leader of the Argonauts who sailed in quest of the Golden Fleece
From this reading “Within an hour he had won old Jason to a non-committal silence and straight-way volunteered to show the colonel the outcroppings of his coal.”
female equine animal
From this reading “And old Jason mounted his sorrel mare and rode with the party up the creek.”
of a light brownish color
From this reading “And old Jason mounted his sorrel mare and rode with the party up the creek.”
separate into parts or portions
From this reading “"Split the difference!" he commanded.”
past form of “volunteer” — tell voluntarily
From this reading “Within an hour he had won old Jason to a non-committal silence and straight-way volunteered to show the colonel the outcroppings of his coal.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading A few minutes later Arch was loping back up the river road.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading "All right."
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Within an hour he had won old Jason to a non-committal silence and straight-way volunteered to show the colonel the outcroppings of his coal.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Within an hour he had won old Jason to a non-committal silence and straight-way volunteered to show the colonel the outcroppings of his coal.
a curved shape in the vertical plane that spans an opening
From this reading A few minutes later Arch was loping back up the river road.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading A few minutes later Arch was loping back up the river road.
fossil fuel consisting of carbonized vegetable matter deposited in the Carboniferous period
From this reading Within an hour he had won old Jason to a non-committal silence and straight-way volunteered to show the colonel the outcroppings of his coal.
a commissioned military officer in the United States Army or Air Force or Marines who ranks above a lieutenant colonel and below a brigadier general
From this reading Within an hour he had won old Jason to a non-committal silence and straight-way volunteered to show the colonel the outcroppings of his coal.
past form of “command” — be in command of
From this reading "Split the difference!" he commanded.
a natural stream of water smaller than a river (and often a tributary of a river)
From this reading And old Jason mounted his sorrel mare and rode with the party up the creek.
the quality of being unlike or dissimilar
From this reading "Split the difference!" he commanded.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading A few minutes later Arch was loping back up the river road.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Within an hour he had won old Jason to a non-committal silence and straight-way volunteered to show the colonel the outcroppings of his coal.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Split the difference!" he commanded.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Within an hour he had won old Jason to a non-committal silence and straight-way volunteered to show the colonel the outcroppings of his coal.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading Within an hour he had won old Jason to a non-committal silence and straight-way volunteered to show the colonel the outcroppings of his coal.
(Greek mythology) the husband of Medea and leader of the Argonauts who sailed in quest of the Golden Fleece
From this reading Within an hour he had won old Jason to a non-committal silence and straight-way volunteered to show the colonel the outcroppings of his coal.
happening at a time subsequent to a reference time
From this reading A few minutes later Arch was loping back up the river road.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A few minutes later Arch was loping back up the river road.
female equine animal
From this reading And old Jason mounted his sorrel mare and rode with the party up the creek.
a written account of what transpired at a meeting
From this reading A few minutes later Arch was loping back up the river road.
assembled for use; especially by being attached to a support
From this reading And old Jason mounted his sorrel mare and rode with the party up the creek.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Within an hour he had won old Jason to a non-committal silence and straight-way volunteered to show the colonel the outcroppings of his coal.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Within an hour he had won old Jason to a non-committal silence and straight-way volunteered to show the colonel the outcroppings of his coal.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading Within an hour he had won old Jason to a non-committal silence and straight-way volunteered to show the colonel the outcroppings of his coal.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Within an hour he had won old Jason to a non-committal silence and straight-way volunteered to show the colonel the outcroppings of his coal.
an organization to gain political power
From this reading And old Jason mounted his sorrel mare and rode with the party up the creek.
precisely, exactly
From this reading "All right."
a large natural stream of water (larger than a creek)
From this reading A few minutes later Arch was loping back up the river road.
an open way (generally public) for travel or transportation
From this reading A few minutes later Arch was loping back up the river road.
inflected form of “ride” — sit and travel on the back of animal, usually while controlling its motions
From this reading And old Jason mounted his sorrel mare and rode with the party up the creek.
give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading Within an hour he had won old Jason to a non-committal silence and straight-way volunteered to show the colonel the outcroppings of his coal.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading Within an hour he had won old Jason to a non-committal silence and straight-way volunteered to show the colonel the outcroppings of his coal.
of a light brownish color
From this reading And old Jason mounted his sorrel mare and rode with the party up the creek.
separate into parts or portions
From this reading "Split the difference!" he commanded.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Within an hour he had won old Jason to a non-committal silence and straight-way volunteered to show the colonel the outcroppings of his coal.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Split the difference!" he commanded.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Within an hour he had won old Jason to a non-committal silence and straight-way volunteered to show the colonel the outcroppings of his coal.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading A few minutes later Arch was loping back up the river road.
past form of “volunteer” — tell voluntarily
From this reading Within an hour he had won old Jason to a non-committal silence and straight-way volunteered to show the colonel the outcroppings of his coal.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading A few minutes later Arch was loping back up the river road.
in the company of; together with
From this reading And old Jason mounted his sorrel mare and rode with the party up the creek.
inside; before a period of time has passed
From this reading Within an hour he had won old Jason to a non-committal silence and straight-way volunteered to show the colonel the outcroppings of his coal.
the basic unit of money in South Korea
From this reading Within an hour he had won old Jason to a non-committal silence and straight-way volunteered to show the colonel the outcroppings of his coal.
Chapter 1 of The Heart of the Hills by John, Jr. Fox holds 429 sentences, grouped into 86 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 1 holds 429 sentences of The Heart of the Hills, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Heart of the Hills by John, Jr. Fox exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 429 sentences, grouped into 86 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 1 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
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Yes. All 3941 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5145 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5145, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 328 minutes of reading across 789 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Heart of the Hills section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
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Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in The Heart of the Hills, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
